Hamilton getting closer to a post-pandemic world: mayor

Hamilton's mayor says he's "feeling good" that the cityseems to be inching closer to life after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mayor Fred Eisenberger said Monday that people still needto adhere to COVID-19 measures, such as indoor masking, getting vaccinated and staying a safe distance from other people.

But with a mere 30 new cases since Friday, and only 119 in all of Hamilton, Eisenberger says he's hopeful that Steeltown is nearinga post-pandemic world.

"I'm feeling good about where we are," Eisenberger said.

"We're in a much, much better place. However, we have to maintain some caution and vigilance so we don't slide back to what we've seen in other places where they've let things go too early."

Overall, he said, "things are looking up."

COVID-19 case numbers have remained consistently low in recent weeks, with a positivity rate of 1.7 per cent, said Michelle Baird, pandemic operations chief at Hamilton Public Health Services. The positivity rate describes the number of COVID-19 tests that are actually positive for the virus.

9 in intensive care

The seven-day average for new cases is 14 per day, and the reproductive rate is 0.83. A reproductive rate of more than one means the virus is spreading, while a rate of less than onemeans the opposite.

St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton has 10 patients with COVID-19 right now, and half of those are in the intensive care unit. Hamilton Health Sciences has 19, of whichfour are in intensive care.

Since the pandemic started last March, 25,243 Hamiltonians have had COVID-19, and 419 have died. Of the total cases, 6.8 per cent of people with the virus were ever hospitalized.

There are seven active outbreaks.

As for vaccinations, the city is planning to roll out booster shots to high-risk populations, namely people aged 70 and over, Indigenous adults, high-risk health care workers and or people who had two doses of AstraZeneca. Baird says it's also planning to roll out vaccinations for people aged five to 11.Health Canada said recently its review of vaccinations for that age group is still "ongoing and is being prioritized."

Some capacity limits lifted, masks requirementsnext?

Those two groups combinedtotal about 100,000 people, she says.

As of Friday,85.1 per cent of eligible Hamiltonianshad received one dose of thevaccine to date, and 81per cent were fully vaccinated.

Throughout the pandemic, the city has used the provincial booking system for vaccines, Baird says. But it's just developed its own system for that.

The province, meanwhile, has lifted capacity limits where proof of vaccination is required. By March, it plans to eliminate having to wear indoor masks.

The city continues to charge businesses for not complying with pandemic regulations, with 13charges laid over the weekend.